We Bet You Didn’t Know This About Pioneer

One of the more commonly overlooked sections on our website is the history section because typically, on any website, it’s a total snoozefest to read. And, we’ll admit, we agree, but if we keep this short and sweet, do you promise to read it? Because Pioneer’s history is actually kind of cool and unique…if we do say so ourselves.

Since you haven’t bailed yet (thank you), here’s how we got our start:

George Whittaker was just a local guy who was sick of seeing his neighbors’ homes, farms, and livelihoods quite literally go up in smoke from severe storms and lightning strikes, so he decided to do something about it.

Whittaker thought up the idea to sell an insurance policy along with a lightning rod. The idea being that if a lightning rod was used on the property, it would keep the lightning away from the home and farm. In today’s insurance terms, we would call this “loss prevention.” In addition to that, the purchaser of the policy would get a discount for installing the lightning rod. At the time, fire policies were expensive, so Whittaker’s idea was innovative. And, if you’re keeping score, that means Pioneer was one of the first insurance companies in the nation to implement an insurance discount. You could say Whittaker was a “Pioneer” of his time.

Whittaker partnered with prominent landowners in Michigan to market his idea. He combined forces with Travis Leach and George Foster to create (bear with us…it was apparently cool in the early 1900s to use the world’s longest names) “Farmer’s Mutual Lightning Protected Fire Insurance Company of Michigan, Ltd.”  

Since then, we’ve added several lines of business and our product lineup today consists of Farm, Home, Auto, Renters, Commercial, and Umbrella insurance. We’ve also gone through several building, name, and logo changes in our 114 years of existence.

We interrupt this blog to bring you - Pioneer’s name change progression through the years (because…it’s comical):

• Farmer’s Mutual Lightning Protected Fire Insurance Company of Michigan, Ltd. (Amusingly long name…probably common back then)
• State Mutual Rodded Insurance Company, Ltd. (Ok, that’s slightly shorter)
• State Mutual Rodded Insurance Company of Michigan (Ope, they went and made it longer)
• State Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Michigan (Still long, but getting there) 
• State Mutual Insurance Company of Michigan (Better)

State Mutual Insurance Company of Michigan merged with Pioneer Mutual to create our current name Pioneer State Mutual Insurance Company (which is still long so we often call ourselves Pioneer or Pioneer State Mutual…all arguably better, right?).

As you can see, we’ve come a long way from the Whittaker days but one thing that has remained the same is we’re always looking out for our fellow Michiganders.

So, why does our history matter?

Maybe it doesn’t matter to the average consumer, but here’s why it should. We are so deeply rooted in our state that we have an advantage over our competitors. We are also Michiganders and we know this state like the back of our hand (pun intended). We’re able to accurately adjust claims and write policies because we know Michigan. Simple as that.

And we think that’s important when choosing an insurance company.

Have any questions about what you just read? Please contact your Independent Insurance Agent or email us at socialmedia@psmic.com!